The Iona Heights Inn

Hector’s Point Moonlight Snowshoe Walks
2019-02-15 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Halifax) | The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill, 4115 HWY 223, Iona, Nova Scotia, B2C 1A3, Canada
Join us for our special “Hector’s Point Moonlight Walk” – a moonlight snowshoe hike around the Highland Village. It will be approximately 3km, and end at the pub with a 10oz pint (for those that are 19/over), or a cup of Jill’s Hot Chocolate.
Walk is for all ages.
Shorter routes available if need be.
$15 per person including snowshoes rentals, or $10 if you bring your own (use coupon code snow in the checkout page to reveal the discounted price). Space is limited.
Meet at The Frolic’n Folk Pub just inside the Inn
Walks begin at 7pm.It is best to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled walk in order to check in.
*Weather permitting

Hector’s Point Snowshoe Walks
2019-02-10 13:00 - 15:00
Cancelled due to lack of snow
“Hector’s Point Snowshoe Walk” at 1pm.This hike will see you walking around the snowy Highland Village. It will be approximately 3km and will end back at the Frolic’n Folk Pub. There you will receive a cup of Jill’s Hot Chocolate or for those that are 19/over a 10oz pint.
Walk is for all ages.
Shorter routes available if need be.
$15 per person including snowshoes rentals, or $10 if you bring your own (please use coupon code snow on the checkout page to reveal the discounted price). Space is limited.
Meet at The Frolic’n Folk Pub just inside the Inn
Walks begin at 1pm.It is best to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled walk in order to check in.
*Weather permitting

New Years Eve with Pretty Archie
2018-12-31 21:00 - 2019-01-01 02:00
Doors open at 4PM. Assigned Seating. Admission ticket gets you entrance, party favours, champagne, midnight snacks, fireworks & a guaranteed good time!
Pretty Archie is a Country/Folk/Bluegrass band from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Long time friends Brian Cathcart (Lead Vocals, Guitar), Matt McNeil (Lead Guitar, Mandolin), Colin Gillis (Harmonica, Bass, Vocals) and Redmond MacDougall (Banjo, Percussion, Vocals) make up this quartet. Always jamming together growing up, they guys decided in May 2012 to form a band. The band chose the name Pretty Archie after a local (Cape Breton) character known for playing with 2 strings outside shopping malls in any weather and not always (or ever) in key. The guys thought the name Pretty Archie embodied the love of playing and performing music along with representing their hometown. Their newest album “Hangin On” drops today (Oct 19th). Get yours here http://bit.ly/PrettyArchie.
Pretty Archie’s 2nd release ‘Sing Alongs & Love Songs’ was made available on September 23rd 2016. Bringing on Jamie Foulds to produce this project, Pretty Archie continues to push the genre lines of Folk, Bluegrass, Country and Blues creating a uniquely Pretty Archie sound. The 10 song album is a collection of their best songwriting to date, addressing themes of love, loss, life and the forces that drive all three.
Pretty Archie’s first full length album was recorded in January 2013 at the famed Grant Ave. Studios in Hamilton, Ontario with well known producer/engineer Bob Doidge. The debut 11 song LP ‘Steel City’ was released on March 9th 2013 and is available on iTunes. ‘Steel City’ was nominated for Music Nova Scotia’s 2013 Country/Bluegrass Album of the Year. Pretty Archie recorded their second album ‘North End Sky’ at Soundpark Studios. The highly anticipated ‘North End Sky’ was released January 27th 2015 and was featured on CBC Radio 2’s “East Coast Music Hour” as an album to look for in 2015. ‘North End Sky’ was nominated for ECMA’s ‘Country Recording of the Year’. ‘North End Sky’ was also nominated for Music Nova Scotia’s Americana/Bluegrass Album of the Year (2015).
Pretty Archie has had the opportunity to be a showcasing artist at Nova Scotia Music Week, East Coast Music Week and NXNE 2014 along with playing some of the best Canadian venues; The Horseshoe Tavern, The Dakota Tavern (Toronto, ONT), Festival of Lights Boreal (Sudbury, ONT), Stan Rogers Folk Festival (Canso, NS), The Ironwood Stage and Grill (Calgary, ALB) Fairmont Banff Springs (Banff, ALB) and many more across Canada. Pretty Archie is known for their entertaining, high energy, foot stomping shows.
Pretty Archie’s honest, heartfelt writing connects listeners with a saltwater perspective on modern living. Their fun loving and at times heartbreaking music finds common ground in the blurred genres of Country, Folk, Bluegrass and Blues. Their unique sound has lead to the band developing a following that grows after each show they play.

Villages
2018-12-14 20:00 - 22:00
Villages is an indie folk group heavily inspired by the spirit of the Maritimes. However, creating music inspired by their Cape Breton roots seemed like a long shot when the members first started performing together. Back in the late aughts, Matt Ellis, Travis Ellis, Jon Pearo and Archie Rankin formed the indie rock group Mardeen and fled Cape Breton Island for Halifax. Aiming to participate in a music community with a penchant for melodic indie rock, the group strove to carry on the torch of their heroes in Sloan, The Super Friendz and Thrush Hermit.
After releasing several acclaimed albums and EP’s, there was a turning point in that endeavour. “One late night, a few years back, a singalong of Rankin Family tunes broke out” says vocalist Matt Ellis. “I remember saying to the rest of the band that we need to write something that evokes the sound of home.” Soon after that night, Ellis wrote just that song. It was called “Hymn After Hymn” and it captured the Maritimes musically and lyrically in a new and authentic way. This song was followed by a burst of creative output and the group quickly jumped into the studio to record these songs with east coast stalwart and producer Joel Plaskett. “Joel has such a strong knowledge of folk music from the UK and Ireland, he really brought our songs to life”. The problem was, these new songs had nothing in common with the edgy indie rock that Mardeen is known for. These songs needed their own home.
Inspired by an essay that comic artist Kate Beaton wrote about her hometown in Cape Breton, the project was named Villages. The group released their first single in October 2016 and have been writing, recording, and touring in the time since.
In February 2019, Villages will release their self-titled debut album. Recorded at their home studio in rural Nova Scotia with producer Thomas Stajcer (Joel Plaskett, Erin Costello), and mixed by Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Basia Bulat), Villages solidifies the group’s vision in capturing the spirit of the Maritimes in a fresh, yet familiar way. Combining Celtic and British folk music influences with the atmospheric arrangements of groups like the War on Drugs and Fleet Foxes, Villages’ debut record is just the first step of a journey into rediscovery and reinvention.

Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify

A Gunning & Cormier Christmas Show
2018-12-07 20:00 - 22:00
Two of Canada’s greatest roots singer-songwriters have finally done what everybody’s wanted — heck, what they’ve wanted — for years. Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier are releasing their first album together, called Two. Great friends, frequent collaborators, co-writers and touring partners, the pair has been talking about this album since pretty much the day they met. Now it’s here, and it’s everything fans hoped and dreamed it would be.
The album is called Two because that’s what it is, just the two of them.
“We wanted to keep it simple and honest so we essentially made a 4-track recording, just two guitars and two vocals. Limiting ourselves this way actually helped inspire the arrangements and the performances. It forced us to dig a little deeper.”, says Gunning.
“A lot of artists like us feel compelled to put these massive productions together, and we said we’re not going to do that,” adds Cormier. “We’re going to make this record be that large with only two instruments and two voices. And we did that.”
Two is made up of everything the duo excels at. There are new collaborations between the two writers (Brothers, Home To Mary), new arrangements of antique folk numbers (Johnny Armstrong, Katie o’ the Gowrie), and some tasty, surprising covers (Never Picked Cotton, Stompin’ Tom’s Songbird Valley).
Every song had to meet their very high, combined standards. “We didn’t take it lightly,” confirms Gunning. “We really put our heart into it.”
Gunning & Cormier go back 23 years when Dave had a fiddle player drop out of a show at the last minute. “He hired me for a gig when I was just back from Nashville, nobody knew me here,” says Cormier.
“We were totally blown away by J.P.’s playing,” recalls Gunning. “I remember him saying if you ever do a CD, I want to play on it.” That happened, and much more. They played together and wrote together whenever they could, coming up with songs that graced both their projects, over the years showered with awards and nominations on the East Coast and nationally.
“Dave is such a part of my life,” says Cormier. “Dave is like my family, he’s like a blood relative to me, and he’s always been that way. ” Gunning feels the same way. “Absolutely, we just became fast friends, and we’ve been working together ever since.”
Since they’ve been two of the busiest solo musicians in the country these past two decades, it’s been impossible to schedule time to make a full album and properly tour it. But that all changed three years ago when Cormier moved just down the road from Gunning in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County, and the pair were able to meet often at Gunning’s home studio.
First, they picked some great songs. Then they figured out their guitar parts, and when ready recorded the guitars ‘live-off-the-floor’ simultaneously. Then they recorded their vocals together. This recording technique gave them what they’d hoped for, something unlike their solo albums: The power of Two.
“It actually creates a sympathetic overtone like a third instrument sometimes,” marvels Cormier. “You go, wait a minute, why does it sound like there’s another guitar? You sometimes can’t tell us apart, or sometimes even our vocals you can’t tell apart, which is really weird because our voices are nothing alike, but when we sing together, we have a sibling harmony, we blend like brothers.”
Gunning & Cormier have been playing some select gigs over the past few months, in anticipation of the album’s release. “It seems to be a different kind of response from the audience that I’m not too sure that either of us have experienced be-fore,” says Gunning. “We love singing together, we love playing guitar together, it just works.”
Two is as real as it gets. Two songwriters, interpreters, guitar players, and singers at their peak. It’s the power of the song, the highest quality from the past to the now. It’s two friends, brothers, uncompromising performers, making the album of their lives. There couldn’t be a better time to discover Gunning & Cormier, and the power of Two.

Frolic'n Funny
2018-11-16 20:00 - 22:00
The Frolic’n Folk Pub & Grill brings you an evening of pro comedy, with some of Canada’s best stand-ups.
Featuring:
Nick Martinello (Vice, CBC Comedy, Halifax Comedy Festival)
Jordan Foisy (This Hour has 22 Minutes. Just for Laughs)
Dan Hendricken (Halifax Comedy Festival, Halifax Pop Explosion)

Full kicthen and bar service as well.
Tickets can be found at the link https://frolicnfunny.brownpapertickets.com or purchase at the door.

Private Function
2018-10-20
Our appologies
The pub will be closed all day for a private event.
Cheers!

Friday Frolic
2018-10-05 19:00 - 21:30
Brandon Collier
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

Ben Kunder
2018-09-07 20:00 - 22:00
Ben Kunder is the kind of guy you pray sits next to you on a long-haul flight. Affable, erudite, and full of riveting tales about the ordinary and the extraordinary — and the intersection where they converge — Kunder is a storyteller of the highest order.
So, it’s no surprise that Better Human, the Toronto singer/songwriter’s dazzling new album and confident follow-up to 2015’s internationally acclaimed Golden, soars on vividly detailed vignettes elevated by Kunder’s warm conversational voice and, like Golden, by a small army of marquee musical guests.
Expertly traversing that rarefied space between elegiac folk and accessible pop, Kunder’s music — propelled variously by strings, pedal steel, keyboards, percussion, guitar, bass, and those spectacular before-mentioned voices — renders small moments in precise detail, making his songs both accessible and, occasionally, downright palpable.
Diving deep into Better Human — both the album and the title song which is slated to receive an accompanying video — is an excellent way to begin that process. With its shimmering lead guitar and joyful chorus (“I’m working harder every day, to be a better human in this world, tattoo these words onto my skin”), “Better Human” is a tiny, perfect anthem for self-realization.
Elsewhere, Kunder lightens it up, as in the breezy, propulsive “Jessi,” buoyed equally by bloopy synth and by Kunder’s onetime Europe tour-mate Sarah McDougall, who adds backup vocals. Meanwhile, the unabashedly knock-kneed “Come On,” gorgeously abetted by Carleigh Aikins, is a tender reminder that love really is all you need.
Kunder spent most of 2017 assembling Better Human, beginning with the songs “Better Days” and “Night Sky,” which were cut that spring with multi-instrumentalist/producer Aaron Goldstein at his Baldwin Street Sound in Toronto.
Writing happened throughout the year. “My first record, Golden, was a collection of songs I’d been working on for years,” Kunder says. “Now, it’s a bit more immediate. The title track was written the day I went into the studio, and ‘Come On’ I wrote halfway through the recording process. I was struggling leading up to the recording. Then I went on tour with Oh Susanna at the end of last summer and the floodgates just opened.”
Kunder and Goldstein reunited at Baldwin Street Sound last fall, welcoming a host of esteemed players — bassist Anna Ruddick (Randy Bachman, Bry Webb, Ben Caplan), Arkells drummer Tim Oxford and keyboardist Anthony Carone, violinist Drew Jurecka, Wintersleep drummer Loel Campbell, among others — while crafting the superb album that will now dominate the balance of Kunder’s 2018 via tour dates across Canada, Europe, and beyond.
“I realize it’s hard to know where to put me,” Kunder offers when asked where he’d expect to find Better Human filed. “I just write songs and hope people relate to them. I think there are people like me who listen to albums the whole way through, to hear the arc of the story. Others want to pick out specific songs to soundtrack their lives.
“I’m happy with either kind of listener. I really just want to connect with as many people as I can in any way possible.”

J.P. Cormier
2018-08-29 20:00 - 22:30
Nobody really knows who J.P. Cormier is for sure. That’s to be expected, believe me.
In 1974 he was a five year old boy, discovering an innate talent for playing the guitar, I had a little hand in that, guiding him through the beginning stages. He learned faster than I could teach.
By the mid eighties, not out of his teens, he was a sideman for bands and artists of many different genres in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and all across the deep south. As he travelled and worked he added more and more instruments to his arsenal of capabilities. He became indispensable to the bands he worked for.
In the early Nineties, he became a sideman for one of Canada’s favourite sons, Stompin’ Tom Connors and also became a staple of the recordings at Studio H in Halifax. His work with the CBC there, spanned musical, production and arranging duties.
All this before he was 20.
In the mid nineties he reentered the musical scene of his beloved East Coast and the Island called Cape Breton. He exploded onto the trad music scene there as a fiddler, performing some of the most difficult music ever produced by legends like Winston Fitzgerald and Angus Chisholm with a facility that stunned onlookers. Especially those who knew he wasn’t born there, but born in Ontario to Cape Breton parents. Somehow, some way, his music was the real thing, sounding like he had been steeped continually in a handed-down brew of family tradition from the old country.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
His previous gig was in Nashville playing mandolin and banjo in a grammy nominated bluegrass gospel band and performing on the Opry, and playing television shows with the likes of Waylon Jennings. All those people also thought he was one of them, American, reared in the ways of bluegrass, old time and Americana music. They knew he was from Canada, but it just didn’t seem possible.
Then in 1997, something amazing happened.
An album released in Canada, out of nowhere, called Another Morning. This time it was him as a songwriter and a lead singer.
And what a songwriter he turned out to be. Some of the performances on that album are literally part of the musical vocabulary today in the East Coast. Songs like the title cut, and Kelly’s Mountain, The Molly May (co written with his cousin Gervais) and others. It inspired, 25 years ago, some of the biggest names in the business today. People like Dave Gunning, Matt Andersen, David Myles, Joel Plaskett, all of which will tell you: that record changed things.
The Canadian industry thought so too, and it received a juno nomination and won an ECMA.
And that was just the beginning.
36 years later after stepping on stage as professional union musician for the first time at the tender age of 13, JP is still going, and frighteningly, still getting better.
16 albums followed the success of Another Morning, winning 12 more ECMA’s, another Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and 5 Music Nova Scotia Awards. Each album was a snapshot of each thing that he can do. There are fiddle albums, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, tribute records, songwriting collections, a purely astounding spectrum of talent and musical vision.
His catalogue of recordings and the 150 or so records he’s produced on other artists, resemble the tapestry he weaves in live performance. Where he used to carry 3 and 4 piece bands, he tours alone now.
Just him and the instruments.
People still leave his shows confused, amazed and wondering what they just saw. Did they see a storyteller? A Songwriter? Arguably one of the best guitar players in the business today? Someone who crosses the lines between different instruments like there are no lines? Who was that masked man, anyway?
Accolades aside, and there are many from people like Chet Atkins, Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot; JP sees himself as just a performer. He’s shy, but has a razor sharp wit and lightning sense of humour. He can be reserved or edgy to the point no return. He speaks for soldiers, first responders, other artists, the forgotten and lost. He speaks sometimes only for himself and refuses rebuttal.
Of all the things he is, foremost he is an entertainer. I think one of the best. After you’ve seen what he does, I’m certain you will too.

Steve Poltz
2018-08-22 20:00 - 22:30
Steve Poltz is not normal.
He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) but has lived most of his life in Southern California and those geographic poles are quite likely responsible for his unhinged genius. He is a dual citizen – Canada/USA – but has often said that, “should a hostage situation arise, I become conveniently Canadian.”
Over the course of his life he’s met Elvis Presley (who hugged his sister for far too long), trick or treated at Liberace’s house (each finger had a diamond ring), was Bob Hope’s favourite altar boy (according to him), bravely traveled the world busking before he knew how to do it, famously co-wrote “You Were Meant For Me” with Jewel, pissed off David Cassidy and can count some of the world’s coolest people as fans.
He’s also an ex high school wrestler (98 pound class), an obsessed baseball fan, a yoga practitioner, a hopeless romantic, a smart-ass philosopher and a child-like adventurer/observer with an absurdist’s view of this crazy world and the various life-forms that inhabit it. He’s interested in it all – the big and the small, the sublime and the ridiculous, the terrestrial and the cosmic. He doesn’t just love life, he rides it bareback, naked, at a full gallop with one hand clenched deep in its mane and the other waving to anyone watching as he flies by. Time is ticking and he has work to do…
As a recording artist, he’s fronted the semi-legendary Rugburns and is responsible for a critically lauded body of work on his own: One Left Shoe, Chinese Vacation, Answering Machine, The Barn (a children’s album), Tales From The Tavern (a performance DVD), Traveling, Unraveling, Dreamhouse, Noineen Noiny Noin and most recently the soundtrack for the acclaimed Sundance-screened documentary film, Running Wild – The Life of Dayton O. Hyde.
As good as his albums are (and they’re very, very good), Steve positively owns a crowd when he’s on stage, where the proverbial rubber hits the road. His shows are the stuff of legend – no two are alike – and can take an unsuspecting audience from laughter to tears and back again in the space of a single song. He is a master of improvisational songwriting and works without a set list to be free to react instantly to the mood of a room. It’s also worth mentioning that he is an astonishing guitar player on top of everything else. He is quite possibly the most talented, and engaging, solo performer on this planet. That’s what 250+ shows a year on three continents will do for you.
Whether he’s Canadian, or American, or simply from space there’s no denying there’s only one Steven Joseph Joshua Poltz and to know him is to love him.

Friday Frolic
2018-08-17 19:00 - 21:30
Darrell Keigan
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

Christina Martin
2018-08-15 20:00 - 22:30
CHRISTINA MARTIN – 2018 Impossible To Hold Tour

AMERICANA UK – LIVE REVIEW
“I ADORE MARTIN’S TREMBLING VIBRATO AND ROUGH TOUGH ROCKER SENSIBILITY, A MODERN FEISTY JOAN JETT, SHE LOOKS COOL, ACTS COOL, SINGS COOL- A PROPER ROCKSTAR.”

“Impossible To Hold” is Martin’s sixth and strongest studio album, achieving a perfect balance between organic ambience and impeccable production. “I’m writing about faith and love more than ever with songs like ‘Keep Me Calm’ and ‘Always Reminding’, but I haven’t shaken the need to write about the darker things that are part of our human journey”. Combining good taste, passionate singing and thoughtful lyrics, “Impossible To Hold” is where music and poetry meet.

Christina began writing and recording her own music while slogging it out on the Austin, Texas bar scene. She has been relentlessly recording and touring in Canada and in the UK and Europe, building connections online and in the old-fashioned way, at venues big and small, singing songs about loss, love and perseverance. Her songs have been featured in films, on television, and she’s performed at music festivals around the world (Rolling Stone Weekender Festival, Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, International Folk Alliance, Reeperbahn Festival, Canada Music Week).

For more information about Christina and her music please visit: www.christinamartin.net

Open in Spotify

Friday Frolic
2018-08-10 19:00 - 21:30, 2018-07-13 19:00 - 21:30
Ian MacDougall
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

Port Cities
2018-08-08 20:00 - 22:30
In the brief period of time since Port Cities unleashed their incendiary debut—a wildly self-assured collection of sparkling, rootsy pop that showcases the Nova Scotia trio’s devotion to songwriting—the band’s been hard at work bringing it to the masses. They’ve continued to explore and evolve their ambitious pop sound, melding diverse musical backgrounds to create an alchemy that’s part art, part songwriting science, and all magic: the nimble dynamism of Breagh MacKinnon’s smoky, jazz-indebted delivery, Dylan Guthro’s simmering and soulful R&B swagger, and Carleton Stone’s razor-sharp, romantic rock ‘n’ roll. In 2018, that memory-making mix of unforgettable melodies, high-flying harmonies, and electrifying heart on Port Cities is set to reach audiences worldwide.
It’s a chemistry that’s been perfected during the 100+ dates they’ve toured in the past year, in hotel rooms and songwriter circles, in vans rolling through foreign countries to rowdy pubs, and on the fog-bound shores of Canada’s misty east coast. It’s helped lead the band to numerous accolades, including a whopping five Nova Scotia Music Awards, a SOCAN #1 Award (for “Back to the Bottom”), and stints at #1 on CBC and Spotify charts. Port Cities has amassed over 1.5 million streams internationally, showcased at The Great Escape, Focus Wales, and the Reeperbahn Festival, and will be releasing their debut in the U.K. and Germany this year.
Beyond Port Cities’ deep devotion to their craft, their success is largely built on a simple but timeless approach: a good song is a good song is a good song. Whether it’s awash with synthesizer (“Sound of Your Voice”), pumped up with an overdriven crunch (“Where Have You Been”), or stripped down to the bare essentials with just an acoustic guitar and three voices. No matter what music the melody might call for, the best song always wins.

Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify

Friday Frolic
2018-08-03 19:00 - 21:30
Roger Stone
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

Mo Kenney
2018-08-01 20:00 - 22:30
Some artists are reluctant to peel back the layers and let you see what’s really going on inside their heads.
Mo Kenney is not one of those artists.
“The Details”, Kenney’s third album, comes as close as any recording I’ve ever heard to putting everything out there for you to see, to experience and to reflect on.
The 14 songs on this deeply personal set detail a series of events in Kenney’s life when she was going through what must have been one hell of a rough patch.
Holding back little, if anything, the Halifax- based singer/songwriter addresses relationships in her life that have fallen apart, her experiences with depression, emotional breakdowns fuelled by the excessive use of alcohol and the impact all of this was having on her as a person and as an artist.
While that may sound a trifle dark — on “Punchy” for example she sings about being punched in the face at a bar by some jackass — there is also a light at the end of the tunnel as Kenney deals with the hand she’s been dealt. She ultimately comes through it all and comes through it a stronger person for the experience.
Producing a concept album that connects all the dots in your life can be a daunting task but Kenney has serious writing chops, as she so aptly demonstrated on her eponymous debut record in 2012 and her sophomore effort “In My Dreams” in 2014.
The “Details” packs a lot of emotions into a record that runs just over 30 minutes.
It is a record of many moods, many colours and many shades and there are more than a few moments when you wonder how she made it through to the other side at all.
And the music underneath all of this is every bit as interesting as the lyrics Kenney penned to tell her story.
There’s a fair bit of flat-out rock’n’roll, a smattering of psychedelia, some dreamy pop music and some zippy stuff that reminds me just a little bit of Joan Jett. Some records take a little time to grow on you but “The Details” got me the first go round and tracks like “On The Roof”, “Unglued”, “I Can’t Wait” and the all-too-brief “Counting” brought me back for more.
And the more I went back the better the experience became because I began to hear new things, things I didn’t hear the first time through. Perhaps I got so wrapped up in the lyrics I missed some of the things that were happening musically.
This record is solid.
It’s brutally honest, at times, a little jarring in places, but there are moments of lightness and humour, albeit black humour.
Kenney produced the record with good friend Joel Plaskett, who also co-wrote Unglued. He also contributed most of the drums and bass tracks. Kenney played all the acoustic and electric guitar parts and she really wailed on some of the electric stuff. She also played keyboards.

Friday Frolic
2018-07-27 19:00 - 21:30
Stewart MacDonald
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

The Town Heroes (Acoustic)
2018-07-25 20:00 - 22:30
They’ve toured the world, released three critically acclaimed albums and won an array of industry awards. Anthemic choruses, 3-part harmonies, tender falsettos and big drums highlight their riff driven, dirty-yet-nuanced barrage of sound. On stage they move like intense caricatures – soaked in sweat, pushing every chord, note and beat to the limit. A structured wall of sound emerges; familiar yet distinctive. Camaraderie shows in their musicianship, their songwriting highlights what they are: friends playing music for the love of it, in it for the long haul.
Musically, TTH are reminiscent of the 90’s Alt-Rock bands they grew up listening to. Lyrically, at the root of every song is a passionate exploration of the things that make us all human. Whether good or bad, they’re the things that make us who we are: heartache, longing, society in the modern age, dreams and family.
Through comedic videos, social media hi-jinks, blogs, unexpected wardrobe, late night sandwich stands at music festivals, amusing acceptance speeches and interviews, the band has earned a reputation for making people laugh.
Though vastly different, the band has found a way to balance these two sides in a seamless, cohesive manner. They see it as a crucial, necessary part of what they do. In a world where so much negativity fills the news, where the media endlessly focuses on the bad, The Town Heroes want to bring something positive into it all – as small as it may be. They see it as necessary because it is – it’s who they are. That’s something they’ll never change.
For the past 6 years, TTH have played as a duo – Mike Ryan (guitar, vocals) and Bruce Gillis (drums) – captivating audiences with their remarkably full sound and energetic performances. With a desire to push the envelope even more, in November 2016 the band expanded to become a 4-piece, adding Aaron Green (guitars) and Tori Cameron (bass) to the band. The new lineup reflects and effectively captures the growth, vision, and musical progression of the band.

Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify

Friday Frolic
2018-07-20 19:00 - 21:30
Wayne Bedecki
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

Dylan Menzie
2018-07-18 20:00 - 22:30
With a sprawling vocal range and compelling approach to composition, Menzie has made an indelible mark in the talent-rich Atlantic Canadian music market with his debut EP, Heather Avenue, in 2013. The release – which earned Music PEI Award nominations and acclaim from industry influencers – led to high-profile performances throughout the Maritimes, including opening slots for City & Colour and Ron Sexsmith.
In 2016, Menzie was a finalist in CBC’s annual Searchlight competition on the back of his breakout single, “Kenya,” which then spent two weeks at number one on CBC Radio 2’s Top 20 leading up to the release of his 2016 album Adolescent Nature.
The record, anchored by the strength of songs like “Kenya” and the follow-up single “Talk to Me,” showcases the pure emotion one can extract from simply a great voice and keen sense of dynamics.
“I started out writing everything on acoustic guitar, though more recently, I’ve been bringing everything down to basic piano chords, and if the song can still move me and move people, I know I’m onto something,” he reveals about his creative process. “Once I’ve got that solid foundation, everything else is just colour and texture.”
Drawing clear influence from the likes of My Morning Jacket, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, and Joel Plaskett without being derivative of any one, the quality of these songs heavily belies the young artist’s age.
In fact, the lyrics – as the album title might suggest – are the only thing here that could clue one in on Menzie’s youth. “I didn’t really see what tied these songs together until I was looking for an album title,” he admits, “and that theme seemed to envelope them all – the idea of finding yourself, where you want to go, and who you want to be in that confusing time of life.”
Since Adolescent Nature’s release, Menzie has been in even higher demand, earning one of two spots in the inaugural East Meets West collaboration between the ECMAs and BreakOutWest as well as slots at prestigious events like the Edmonton Folk Festival, Canadian Music Week, Folk Alliance International, and others.
But even as excitement behind his breakthrough continues to mount, Menzie already has his sights set on what’s next – another product of his self-competition and refusal to rest on any laurels. And if he continues on his current trajectory of each new song, each new release eclipsing its predecessor, he’ll soon be impossible to ignore.

Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify

Old Man Luedecke
2018-07-11 20:00 - 22:30
Old Man Luedecke, is one of Canada’s best loved and most intriguing roots singer-songwriters. “An original, he is a musical singularity to be savoured and shared”, says the Vancouver Folk Festival. His memorable melodies, poetic sense and easy charisma appeal to anyone searching for new growth from old roots.
Old Man Luedecke was born in Toronto but has made his home for years in the music rich maritime province of Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. There his music has been wholeheartedly adopted and is becoming representative for its traditional storytelling folk elements. It speaks to a new generation of people craving such meaning in their music.
Luedecke is a young man with an old soul who doesn’t sugar coat his fears and this lets his songs breathe with a fresh breeze of bittersweet hopefulness. He channels a refreshing energy from folk giants like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger with maybe a hint of Loudon Wainwright III. But it’s Luedecke’s contemporary lyrics coupled with the irresistible rhythm of the old time banjo that connect and make him so loved with his audiences. Anchored in his music’s melodic confidence is an ability to tap into a common muddled and dark search for meaning. This keeps people singing his songs and praises after he’s traveled on.
His performances are exciting and totally entertaining. His uncliched banjo playing sparkles beautifully and dynamically. This coupled with his thumping foot creates a complete sound. People are drawn into singing along. His singing is his own. Clear and unadorned it is totally emotive and suits the sincerity of his tunes. In the breaks between songs come wild and charming stories of meeting heroes and easygoing but gripping musings on things ridiculous and sublime that may have a wink of contemporary vaudeville. Equally at home on festival main stages, theatres and living rooms, he can hold court in the occasional indie rock bar. Luedecke has been a featured performer at all the major folk festivals in Canada and Australia and an increasing number of American festivals, like Strawberry in California. He has appeared with and shared the stage at concerts and soft seaters with such performers as Feist, Tim O’Brien, Joel Plaskett, David Francey, Buck 65, The Be Good Tanyas and Jill Barber. He’s shared festival stages alongside Bela Fleck, Tim O’Brien, Jack Elliot, Kris Kristofferson, Ashley MacIsaac, and countless others.
Old Man Luedecke has received great recognition for his works, including Juno Awards (The Canadian Grammy) for “Proof of Love” and “My Hands Are On Fire and Other Love Songs.”

Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify

Friday Frolic
2018-07-06 19:00 - 21:30
Richard Schaller
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

Adam Baldwin
2018-07-04 20:00 - 22:30
Adam Baldwin is a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia based musician and songwriter, perhaps best known as a member of Matt Mays’ band since 2008. His self-titled EP, released in 2013, won the Nova Scotia Music Week award for Male Artist Recording of the Year and he was named Musician of the Year in 2014.
Baldwin’s debut full-length album is called No Telling When (Precisely Nineteen Eighty-Five) and was released on June 24, 2016. The album was produced by Liam O’Neil (The Stills, Metric) and also features the talents of Josh Trager (Sam Roberts Band), Brian Murphy (Alvvays) and Leah Fay (July Talk).
Of making the record in Toronto during the lead up to the last federal election and the Blue Jays dramatic playoff run, Adam says: “Toronto was alive… indeed, Canada was alive. I walked down Dundas and Ossington every day to the studio and passed hundreds of election signs. You could feel the hope and you could feel the fear. It was on everyone’s tongue. If folks weren’t talking about the election, they were talking about baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays, an entity that falls just below rock and roll in terms of my devotion, had ended a playoff drought that almost precedes my memory. The Jays’ run into the American League Championship Series was the perfect foil for the very stressful federal election.”
The title track and first song describes events in New York City in 1985 (the year before Adam was born) and suggests how, thirty years on, not a lot in our culture has really changed. A particular unnamed real-estate developer, reality TV star and politician personifies this idea.
The first single “Daylight” was inspired by the political events in Canada surrounding the recording sessions. From Adam: “It’s a song about both the unity and division we felt as a country. It’s a song that should remind us that this change was spurred by a desire for a different direction, and that while our course appears to have changed, we have to demand that it continue to do so.”
“Anytime” and “Sparrow Song”, both featuring back up vocals from Leah Fay, loosely form a two act play and the centerpiece of the album. In “Anytime” Adam sings about young love and all the hopes and fears that come with that, while “Sparrow Song” describes those fears when they become reality.
“Rehtaeh” is about the systemic failures that led to the death of Rehtaeh Parsons in 2013 and is, as Adam puts it “maybe the most important song I’ll ever write.”
The album closes with “Living Proof”, a song about the Canadian Dream, and how as Adam points out, “The dream is elusive because it isn’t made available to everyone. It can’t be attained by just anyone.”

Kitchen Fest
2018-06-29 19:00 - 22:00
Rosie MacKenzie, Colin MacDonald, David Rankin, Kevin Dugas
Fiddles and bagpipes, concerts and céilidhs, food and drink, Gaelic language and song, cheering and dancing, informality and hospitality — consider this your official invitation to Cape Breton’s biggest kitchen party!
Full kitchen and bar service as well.

Dave Gunning
2018-06-27 20:00 - 22:30
“Truly, what makes Gunning so remarkable as an entertainer is his rare gift to be able to befriend the audience as a whole from the stage throughout the course of the concert. And, indeed, you do feel as though he’s as good of a friend as any after a night of songs, stories and lighthearted laughs.” – The Guardian
Call it the silver lining in the cloud of a brutally cold Nova Scotia winter. When acclaimed folk singer/songwriter Dave Gunning decided it was time to make his 11th solo album, he found the bleak weather outside a blessing, not a curse. “We were literally snowed in, but the power was on and I was good to go,” he says of the making of that album, Lift.
Eleven albums in, Dave Gunning has become a truly masterful songwriter, one who has earned real peer respect from such Canadian folk songwriting legends as Ron Hynes, David Francey, and James Keelaghan. “I grew up listening to people like Ron Hynes,” says Dave. “I look up to them but then it hits me sometimes that I’m their peer and they like my stuff too. It’s a weird headspace, flipping from being a fan to being a peer.”
Co-writing with his peers has had a major impact on Gunning. “The co-writing process has really helped my career, as it helps you keep the energy momentum going,” he explains. “Noted co-writers on Lift include Matt Andersen, Thom Swift, Catherine MacLellan, Jamie Robinson, plus American Sally Spring and Dave’s Pictou pals, Jim Dorie, John Meir, and Ray Stewart. One song here, “Alberta Gold” has already been something of a radio and video hit for Matt Andersen, who included it on his popular album Weightless. Gunning’s banjo-fuelled campfire singalong version is equally rousing in its depiction of the present-day migration of Maritimers to the Albertan oil patch.
The 13 songs on Lift cover refreshingly broad lyrical terrain. Story and character-based songs fit snugly alongside more personal material, and in true folk music tradition, some numbers could be considered protest songs. Gunning acknowledges that “this album has more personal and introspective songs than my past recordings. I do still love songs that are about things and tell a real story, like the songs of Stan Rogers. They inspire me.”
A fine example of that here is “I Robbed The Co. Store,” which tells the true story of a group of British settlers in Nova Scotia in the 1770s forced to steal from a storehouse reserved for troops just so they could feed their families. A more contemporary song with a Pictou County setting is “They Don’t Do That No More.” “That one is inspired by the fight we have here against a pulp mill that is just an environmental disaster,” explains Gunning. The mournful sound of the pedal steel punctuates his lament that “there’s poison on the harbour floor.” It’s a song one of Dave’s key inspirations, the late folk great Pete Seeger, would have been proud to call his own.
Another song, “Sing It Louder,” is actually a tribute to Seeger. “My goal was to write a song you could imagine him singing,” says Gunning. “As folk singers we should all aspire to carry the torch of Pete Seeger and his message of social justice.” Dave’s talents as a poetic lyricist are vividly displayed on the haunting “Breaker’s Yard” and the plaintive “Pasadena,” a co-write with Catherine MacLellan.
Gunning’s recording career is now approaching a full two decades in length (his debut album, Lost Tracks, came out in 1996). Along with richly-deserved peer respect, he has also earned a shelf full of music industry awards. That tally now stands at eight East Coast Music Awards and two Canadian Folk Music Awards, plus a 2012 Juno Award nomination in the Roots & Traditional Solo Album of the Year category for his album …a tribute to John Allan Cameron, a compelling homage to another of Dave’s Maritime musical heroes.
His songwriting skill has also been internationally recognized, with earlier tunes scoring victories and high placings in some major international songwriting competitions. As a fervent hockey fan, Gunning was also thrilled to win the CBC’s hotly-contested Hockey Night In Canada Song Quest in 2014 with “A Game Goin’ On”, a co-write with David Francey.
Give yourself a Lift and check out the work of an authentic artist at his creative peak.

Friday Frolic
2018-06-08 19:00 - 21:30
Farmer The Band
Catch some live music at the pub each Friday this summer.
Kitchen open till 9PM, bar open till 2AM
No cover charge.

2 For 1 Pasta Sundays
2018-05-27 16:00 - 21:00
2 for 1 Pasta Sundays
$13.99 + tax. Every Sunday 4-9PM
Choices of pasta:

Pesto Chicken Penne (cream base)
Maple Curry Chicken Penne (cream base)
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (garlic & oil)
Italian Shrimp (oil base)
Chicken Picanté (tomato base)

(All served with garlic toast. Whole grain available)
Dine In Only. Beverage Purchase Required

Irish Mythen
2018-05-26 20:00 - 22:30
True power inspires awe, and Irish Mythen packs a lot of it – lyrical, musical, and personal – into a relatively small frame.
Mythen is a globetrotting troubadour – an Irish-born, contemporary Canadian folk artist who’s been amassing accolades and achievements across several continents over the years. Her presence and charisma simply command attention, and regardless of where she takes the stage, she delivers a sonic and emotional experience that transcends language and location; that reaches the very core of what connects us. It’s an experience that, in recent years, has earned her spots performing alongside Rod Stewart, Gordon Lightfoot, and Lucinda Williams and billings on major festival stages the world over.
Following a pair of earlier EPs, Irish cemented her spot as a performing powerhouse with her first two full-length offerings – 2008’s Sweet Necessity and 2011’s Open Here; however, it’s since moving to Prince Edward Island and releasing her latest collection – a self-titled, statement-making third LP in 2014 – that she’s propelled herself to an impressive new plateau.
The ECMA 2015 Roots Album of the Year perfectly couples the two poles of her sonic sphere: a universally engaging and accessible brand on contemporary folk with a tinge of more traditional Celtic influence that stems from her proud heritage. The result is a sound that’s truly timeless and transcending, anchored by her dominant and dynamic vocal prowess.
Her live show – an impactful and impressive tour-de-force that finds Irish combining her contemporary and catchy anthems with traditional tunes borrowed from her homeland. All are woven together with a signature blend of edgy humour and heartfelt storytelling while her presence and performance magnetically draw eyes and ears towards the small-statured powerhouse on stage.
“I want them to feel like it was not just about the music, but an overall experience,” Irish says about what she hopes to deliver to her audience. “I love feeding off of crowd and interacting with them. That’s why I rarely have set lists; I like to see and feel the audience and give them what they want.”
She must be doing just that, as Irish has established herself as a staple at events like the Mariposa Folk Festival and Folk Alliance International Conference, and others continue to call. In just the last 12 months, Irish has closed out the Philadelphia Folk Festival, performing after the iconic Lyle Lovett, and had tens of thousands in her hands at Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival. On the back of the latter performance, she was even handpicked to open for Melissa Etheridge’s 2016 Australian run.
A reinvigorated drive and longstanding passion for performance will only push Irish Mythen further into the international eye, enticing listeners of all kinds to take heed. Once they do, they’re sure to be captivated and converted, joining the cavalcade and following this wandering talent wherever she may go next.

Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify
Open in Spotify
